A journey in cookery, devoted to one girl's experiences as she forges her way, recipe by recipe, through cookbooks in an attempt to learn something about food and maybe, just maybe, about herself.

Friday, April 01, 2005

What Are Little Girls Made Of? SUGAR!

Yesterday was my birthday, which will probably get a blog entry all on its own on my other site, but in honor of said special event, much sugar was consumed. At least for me. My darling co-workers got me a sheet cake, which I can't post a picture of until Melissa sends me the file, but it was like something out of a Japanese anime, covered with technicolor sprinkles, drizzles of pink, purple, and blue streamer-icing, and my name written in magenta. I was quite pleased, especially when cutting it revealed a thick, dense chocolate cake. It was moist, something I wouldn't have necessarily expected from a 'grocery store' cake, but instead from something homemade, and it reminded me I hadn't made a cake in a while... mmm... cake.... so I think that very easily could be this weekend's project, if I can tear CameraMan away from the auto show, house hunting, and all the other niggling chores that must be done.

In addition to my acid-cake, my co-workers sang me a heartfelt rendition of the Birthday Song, which was all the better surrounded by our clients (I'm an IT auditor, so we work on site at client locations to assess information systems... which means we're a service oriented group, and singing happy birthday is a little unprofessional... I was touched) and their products - massive bottles of wine, beer, and spirits. Very festive. :)

I came home, and on the way stopped to get some groceries to ensure dinner would be available. CameraMan and I decided to go out to eat tomorrow night to celebrate, since I have a big work lunch this afternoon, and I thought it might be overkill. To my surprise, I saw the wonder that halfthefood-blogging community has been talking about - Dark Chocolate M&Ms! Now, CameraMan *loves* peanut M&Ms, but he's always complained that the chocolate is just 'enh'. He doesn't eat them for the chocolate, he eats them because their the most convienent candy he 'likes'. But at word of Dark Chocolate, his eyes lit up. So, when I found some in our Easter Candy aisle, I had to pick them up to be tried.

All I can say is, I have been converted to the dark side of the force. The little candies are delicious - certainly not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, but I would say comparable with Dove dark chocolate bites (it's a bit hard to tell with the peanut in the way). The colors are a little bizarre - I had a maroon one that looked as if it'd been tie-dyed, rather than just darkened. But given the choice overall, CameraMan and I would make the switch permanently. The downside to all of this is, if the American public decides they don't agree with us, we may never go back to plain or peanut milk chocolate M&Ms... it's just not the same.

Hopefully if we in the US can't keep 'em here, the Japanese will help. As noted by chika at shewhoeats, there's certainly a different perspective on mass-marketed treats there than we've got around these parts.

2 Comments:

Interested in Cooking? Need a new recipe for Thanksgiving or an unusual present for Christmas for the cook that has it all? Let me tell you about a cookbook that is older than you and me together, but still has more value that most cookbooks that are out on the marke these days. It is called America Cookery. It is the first cookbook of American authorship to be printed in the United States. Numerous recipes that adapt traditional dishes by substituting native American ingredients such as corn meal and squash are printed here for the first time, including "Indian Slapjack," "Johny Cake," and "Squash Pudding." Simmons's "Pompkin Pudding," baked in a crust, is the basis for the classic American pumpkin pie. It is awesome. I bought it and y family and friends loved and envied the sudden knowledge that I displayed and the tasty treats that I was able to make with this treasure. Thank you to the person who made it available for immediate download. Happy holidays from Selina and family.

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About Me

As I'm sure comes as no surprise, I am not a professional writer, cook, or even a gourmet. By day, I am an IT auditor (I promise, much more interesting than it sounds), and by night, I am a loving wife to my husband, CameraMan, and a loving mommy to my kitten, Loki.
I am also recovering from an eating disorder. I know, that might not jive with the cooking thing, but as part of my journey to recovery, I need to re-engage with all aspects of life, including love for food. My goal? To taste everything I make and remind myself that life is for living, not watching.